Invitation To The Dance
by SoulFire1111
Summary: One shot. Hinata instructs Naruto in some new 'moves'. Another contest entry under the prompt of 'training session'. Naruto and Hinata belong to the esteemed Masashi Kishimoto and I only hope to do them justice.


INVITATION TO THE DANCE

"Gotcha!" Naruto burst up from the earth at Hinata's feet to pin her against one of the last trees at the forest's edge. The dark haired girl gasped in surprise and turned her head to see the ripple of the water only a few feet away. It had been a light spar—more of a catch-me-if-you-can pursuit than anything-with her goal to reach the training ground lake before he could stop her. So close!

"That was some chase!" the orange and black clad blond continued with a breathless laugh, propping hands on the rough bark to either side of her shoulders and leaning in. "You nearly had me beat!"

Hinata blinked into his vibrant blue eyes, now mere inches from her own and felt her mind going blank. She forced herself to speak, "Um—Naruto kun, you are too kind. You could have caught me at any time."

She lifted her chin, an admiring smile touching her lips as her face inched nearer to his own, and he suddenly realized just how close to her he had drawn. With widened eyes he hopped back, one hand nervously brushing at his unruly hair. He managed to choke out a weak chuckle. "I don't know-you've got those crazy Hyuuga skills, y'know!"

He flashed that patented Uzumaki grin and Hinata's heart jumped as she sensed his befuddlement. The fact that he felt the same pulse quickening spark when they drew near both thrilled and reassured her. "Perhaps, but you really put them to the test. I didn't expect you to pop out of the ground like a mole!"

"Mole is right." he said, noting the rain of soil his head scratch had unleashed. His gaze shifted toward the lake. "Might be a good idea to wash up before we head back to the village."

She watched him shake out his clothes as he headed for the water, an absurdly amusing similarity to an agitated Akamaru popping into her mind. "Speaking of tests," she said as she quickly stepped up to join him, "you know that this years Chuunin exams just concluded-"

"Yeah." He knelt to splash his face. "I can't believe that Konohamaru ranks higher than me now, but it would hardly be fair for me to take the exams—heck, I'd kick everyone's butt!"

"The hero who saved our world hardly needs such a title," she soothed, feeling the frustration that he was attempted to smooth over, "but I could certainly use his company for Hanabi's upcoming Chuunin graduation celebration."

"Celebration?" He bounced up beside her. "As in party?!"

She rolled her eyes up in consideration. "I suppose you could call it a party. There _will_ be food and dancing..."

"Dancing!" He grinned wide and closed his eyes, gyrating his hips and swinging his elbows akimbo. "Oh, yeah—Octopops showed me all about that!"

Hinata pressed a hand over her lips but was unable to stifle her giggle. "Oh no, Naruto kun! If father saw you moving like that, he might be tempted to draw his sword!"

"Yeah, I'm-huh?" Naruto froze in mid hip roll, his awkward stance inducing further laughter from his petite companion.

"Hyuuga celebrations are very formal affairs," she explained, attempting very hard to look serious, "including the dancing. Those—moves-simply won't do."

His confident grin had taken on a sickly quality. "...no...?"

"No." She smiled up at him and tipped her head to one side, her long hair falling across her shoulder. "It seems you're in need of a training session or two in the art of the traditional Hyuuga dance."

"Oh, okay!" The grin returned full force with a flash of teeth. "I've had plenty of teachers, but none like you, y'know!"

"M-me?" she squeaked, falling back to her old habit of stammering in her surprise. She actually had her personal guardian Koh in mind for such a task.

"We've still got plenty of daylight left," Naruto enthused, completely unaware of her momentary lapse in confidence, "so why not try a few steps now? We can-uh-" His face screwed up in puzzlement. "So...what do we do?"

'Well..." she began, warming to the prospect of taking on the project in spite of her initial trepidation, "I suppose we need to start with stance and then proceed to steps."

"Stance, huh? Like this?" He pushed out his lower lip in a stern pout, stiffened his shoulders and threw them back, doing his best to imitate the traditionally straight laced Hyuuga appearance.

"Oh my, no!" She couldn't help but laugh out loud, which was what he was aiming for.

"Okay, I'll behave." he said with a wink and a chuckle. Amused doubt remained in Hinata's lavender eyes, forcing him to relent. "Really, what's next?"

She offered her open palm. "First we hold hands, your right and my left," she explained as she claimed his hand in hers, "and raise them up and out—like this."

"Hey, hey—this is easy," he commented, curling his fingers around hers as she guided their hands into position. "I could hold hands with you all day, y'know."

"Me too," she admitted, feeling the warmth of a blush on her cheeks, "but there's more to it than that. Now you need to place your other hand on my shoulder blade, just beneath my arm."

"It just keeps getting better." He cast her a sly sideways glance as he slid his hand in place.

She felt her blush deepen in the face of his obvious flirting. It still seemed strange, being on the receiving end of his attention. Wonderfully and amazingly strange. She struggled to keep her mind on the task at hand.

"Pay attention now." she instructed softly and sternly, speaking as much to herself as to her partner. "I need to rest my arm on yours, so don't hold it too high, okay?"

"Right!" He dropped his elbow to enable her to better her arm's position. "How's this?"

"Perfect." she said as she lightly rested her hand on his shoulder. "Now we're ready to begin."

Naruto cast an eye down toward their feet, and she could see him attempting to think through the logistics of the dance steps. "It's easy." she assured. "Just pretend we're standing in a box and we have to move around within it."

"A box, huh?" he murmured, forming the picture in his mind.

Hinata nodded. "Yes. We're going to step together to the side, going to your left, first one foot, then the other." He dutifully followed along with her movement. "Good. Now you take a left step forward while I take a right step back. Then we step to the side again with the other foot—your right this time." He was hesitant, afraid of stomping her toes, but she coaxed him along with a gentle tug at his arm.

"It's all repetition after that." she said as they came to a stop. "Think you have it?"

"Yeah! Sure!...Well...maybe," he admitted, his uncertainty seeping through his bluster.

"Don't worry. You're doing fine." She gave his shoulder a reassuring little squeeze. 'Think of it as a new taijutsu move."

His eyes brightened, "A new move, eh?"

"That's right! Ready to try again?"

"Let's do this!" He tightened his grip on her fingers and repeated the steps aloud as he put them to memory, training his eyes on hers to keep himself from looking down at his feet. In just a few moments he began to pick up the cadence of the movement. "I think I'm gettin' the hang of it, now."

"As if there was ever a doubt." His partner responded with an loving smile.

Confidence growing, he flashed her a toothy grin and spun them out across the lake's smooth surface. "Hang on Hinata! Time to step outside the box!"

She squeaked in surprise, immediately concentrating the flow of her chakra to her feet as he picked up speed and led them toward the deeper water. The scenery around them flew past in a blur and to hold on and match his footwork was all she could do.

"Oh yeah," he crowed, exulting in his quick mastery of the steps and the thrill of the movement, "I am a dancing machine, y'know!"

He abruptly whirled to a stop and momentum sent Hinata colliding into his arms and almost knocked them splashing into the lake. Instinctively, he caught her as he stabilized their footing on the water's surface. He cast her an apologetic look, his mood deflated. "Sorry. Sometimes I can be such an idiot..."

His downtrodden expression took precedence over the unexpected intimacy of their position. She slid her arms around his waist and gave him a reassuring hug. "Naruto kun, you are many things, but an idiot is not one of them. A long time ago I fell in love with a bold and silly boy who had a heart full of dreams and the courage to chase after them. Were he not so silly, he may never have been so bold as to think he had that chance." She tilted her head and aimed her smile straight for his heart. "Don't apologize for being you. I love _you_, Naruto kun. Every bold and silly and wonderful thing about you."

He wrapped her up in a spontaneous bear hug. "No matter how many times I hear you say it, the fact that someone as amazing as you cares about me just blows me away, y'know."

She gave an ironic laugh made breathless by the strength of his hug. "Funny, I was about to say the same thing."

"I guess great minds think alike-uh-" he looked down at Hinata's flushed, glowing face, suddenly aware of just how closely he was holding her. He could feel her ribs move with each breath and the fluttery beat of her heart next to his own. Concentration broken, the water abruptly gave way beneath him and they fell unceremoniously into the shocking cold of the lake.

They sputtered to the surface and climbed atop the rolling waves. Naruto sent her a chagrined smile. "Um...oops..."

She smoothed her dripping hair out of her eyes and met his mortified gaze with a silvery burst of laughter that he couldn't help but return.

He jumped to his feet and offered her a hand up. "So much for the dancing lesson," he said with some regret.

"Maybe you _were_ a bit too enthusiastic," she admitted as she rose beside him, "but you did really well for your first lesson."

His eyes widened. "You mean you're willing to give me another chance?"

"Oh, I'm not finished with you, Naruto kun." she told him sweetly. Her unexpectedly coy smile nearly sent him tumbling back into the lake. "You know what they say about practice makes perfect-" She reaching up to wipe a drip of water from the tip of his nose. "-but I think it best that our next lesson be well away from water."

He chuckled off the butterflies and ran fingers through his sopping blond spikes. "Heh...probably a good idea, y'know."

A light breeze swept across the lake and through their wet clothes. Hinata shivered and reached for his hand. "Time to end this training session and find ourselves some dry clothing."

"And maybe a bowl or two of steaming hot ramen!" he added with enthusiasm. He tossed a wink in her direction. "Kinda to celebrate the bold and silly way that I learned some new moves from one awesome teacher."

She squeezed his hand as they crossed toward the shore. "That sounds wonderful."


End file.
